In certain arthroscopic surgical procedures saline solution is introduced about the area being operated on and circulation of such fluid is continued during the procedure. For example, in performing arthroscopic surgery on a knee joint, saline solution is forced under pressure into the knee joint through a tube inserted through a small incision in the overlying skin and synovial membrane and is removed through a second incision. Solution tends to escape during this process and typically runs onto the operating room floor, notwithstanding attempts to collect the flow by using plastic sheets draped in appropriate ways. Several gallons of fluid may be lost during a procedure that takes 45 minutes to an hour. In many instances use of the operating room is delayed between patients while solution that has accumulated on the operating room floor is removed.